Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'Megxit' Scandal Makes King Charles' Plan to Slim Down the Monarchy 'Very Difficult'

Prior to King Charles ascending to the throne, he hoped his reign would include his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. However, His Majesty's dreams fell apart once Harry fled the U.K. and publicly attacked the monarchy.

Royal expert Gareth Russell discussed the impact the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle had on Charles' sovereignty.

"When then-Prince Charles first talked about a slimmed-down monarchy, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother were still alive," Russell said on GB News. "So not only did you have a monarch, but you also had the monarch’s sibling, and a significant number of George V's grandchildren were still working royals at that stage."

"So the royal family was quite large at the start of the 20th century," he added.

Even though Harry struggled with being William's "spare," the Sussexes were supposed to be an integral part of The Firm.

"In 2023, the monarchy was never intended to be functioning without the Duke of Sussex," the biographer explained. "The King had always, I think, intended to have both of his sons and their spouses whoever they may be senior working royals."

"Because of the very different choices by the Duke of York and the Duke of Sussex, for a variety of reasons, there are three senior royals who are no longer working royals," he continued.

The Windsors are known for their charitable efforts, but without the Sussexes and Prince Andrew, they might be forced to step back from their commitments.

"This means that either the royal family are going to have to start cutting back on the number of charities they patronize and a number of events they attend, or they are going to have to recruit three extra royals which would be the Princesses Beatrice, Eugenie and their cousin Lady Louise," the author admitted.

When Meghan and Harry fled the U.K. in 2020, there was hope that they'd return to England.

"Buckingham Palace could not have been any more clear than the initial announcement in 2020 of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex leaving, that the royal household would be quite willing or quite eager to have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex back at some time in the future," the royal expert shared.

"In 2020, it was still very much then-Prince Charles' hope that one day, his younger son and his daughter-in-law would want to come back to work again," he continued. "Unfortunately what has happened in the two or three years since that announcement has made it very difficult."

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Princess Anne, Prince Edward and the Wales have gracefully embraced their increase in responsibilities, but it could be too much for them to handle.

"As much as the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Prince and Princess of Wales are doing, they're not supposed to be covering as many events as they are currently," Russell stated.

"To be functioning in a way whereby they can still give substantial support to the various causes and charities as they have for the past, they will need to have at least three working royals in the younger generation, i.e. Prince William's generation, which will be Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Lady Louise Windsor," he concluded.